The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1887-10-20

1Rt.
am telling you truthfully that not .
word Of mutiny was whispered during the
night. We made no threats, and had no
plan, but yet we all felt that the morning
would bring a crisisof some sort. Dur.
ing the night, In the case Of both watches,
the officers were very abusive, and the
men were struck or kicked without the
( shadow OF an excuse. When daylight
came, and we began to scrub down, the
breeze died quite away, and we lay be-
calmed. We were at this time about 30
or 100 miles from the British coast.
When it was time for breakfast both
watches were on deck, and as the men
/ went to the cooks galley to receive their
kids and pannikins all three officers showed
up on deck. was at the wheel, and T
saw that the captain and first mate had
/ their revolvers. The kids were taken for.
ward without g word. The food had not
been changed, and the men pushed the
dishes away. Il there was any growing
b ] couldn't hear 1t. The captain waited
about ten minutes, and then seeing that
the men were not going to eat, he told the
I second mate to order them aft. All came
In q body, and all bore themselves respect.
fully.
s'Look here, Herbert, y said the captain,
addressing the sailor who had, acted as
spokesman on the previous occasion,
s'what Is the matter with the grubi'
SITS bad, sir-unfit to eat, replied the
man. isl-;@.;. &, ~, .sSs ),
'.That is, you lazy lubbers have agreed
among You to call It bad, and to make me
mt into some pOrt?,ss
ssSir,; there's never fa man Of us but
what is willing to stand for the voyage
and work our best, but the grub, sir, beg
ging your pardon, was spoiled long enough
before it came on board. Will you please
inspect Il, siri'' s.E,i.S ~ ie.,t
.tNot by 8 damned sight, and now we'll
see which end Of this ship sails the iother."
With that he rushed upon Herbert to
strike him with his loaded weapon, while
the mates seized Delaying pins and dashed
q % knock down as many men as they
could. The sailors ran forward, and ]
heard some Of them begging for mercy.
The officers followed them, evidently de-
.termined: to Wreak savage vengeance, and
8 It was onIy-when driven to the windlass
that the men turned. It was o case OF
self defense. / could not well see what
followed, but heard pistol shots, savage
cries, q great struggle, and, as 1t now
came on dead calm, left the wheel and
ran forward. AN was over when I got to
the ,foremast. The three officers were
dead or dying, Herbert and another sailor
were dead. s-Ad Of the remainder OF the
men at least five were seriously wounded.
The mutiny had not lasted above five
minutes. For q long time after reached
the bow the men stood looking around
them without uttering word. Then, at
last, q Yankee sailor named Ben Lobdeu,
who had bullet in his left shoulder,
stood out little from the rest and said:
MATES, we have been driven to mutiny
and murder. Aye, every man Of you
knows we had to turn to save our own
lives against those officers lying dead. 1t
has all coma about through the bad grub.
shall now order the cook to prepare us
breakfast, and after that is eaten we shall
consult as to what Is to be done. Mean
while, as in duty bound, will set a signal
Of distress -
The steward got the dag from the locker
In the cabin and it was properly set.
Then the hurts Of the wounded were
looked to, and by that time breakfast was
ready. It was served in our dishes and
eaten on deck, and not man OF Us had
sword to say. just as we were finishing
the cook end steward came out In COM
pany and hoped we would spare their
Lives. Ben got up and replied.
Don't take US for either muttneers or
tmurderers. What has been done was
only In self defense. The life Of every
man here is as safe as in his own home.
Now, then, the first thing is to see who OF
the poor fellows lying on the decks has
BIT OF life laft In him."
s.The captain and first mate were dead
enough, as was the case with the two
sailors, but the second mate had life In
him. When tho men were driven to bay
they turned and used their sheath knives
and the capatan bars. The second mate
had his left arm broken, and had received
two stabs. We took him down to his
berth, removed his clothes, and dressed
his hurts, and when the steward had pre-
pared him drink he opened his eyes, and
when he found that we were IN possession
Of the ship he said, in the presence OF four
men:
= -tsI expected It would turn out this way,
but had to obey orders While you have
done for nae bear you no grudge. II you
draw up statement Of how it came
about, will sign it."
drew up statement Of fact, and the
mate, who hadn't two hours to live, al
fixed his signature, and It was followed
by the name Of every man In the ship.
Before noon he was dead, and after din
ner we buried all the bodies and made the
ship tidy. BY mutual consent Ben was
made captain, and a sidlor naIned Jack
Wonder was selected as mate. 1t was
our purpose to sail the ship back to Glas-
cow, and not man was allowed in the
cabin, nor were any ef the stores dis
turbed, except the provisions. The signal
was kept flying all day, but owing to the
calm we did not move half O mile. just
at sundown steamer .came up with us,
sent boat aboard, and when told of what
had happened she put several men aboard
and got out tow line and made fast to